Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 is set to open Friday and champion Forte (Violence) has been tabbed as the 8-1 individual betting favorite among the 39 individual betting interests plus the popular No. 40 option of "All Other 3-Year-Olds" who were not listed. Pool 4, which features $2 win and exacta wagering, opens Friday at noon EST and closes Sunday at 6 p.m. In total, there are 13 new betting interests in Pool 4: Determinedly (Cairo Prince), Eyeing Clover (Lookin at Lucky), First Defender (Quality Road), Frosted Departure (Frosted),...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will host a special "Countdown to the Triple Crown" fund-raising event on Saturday. This event, scheduled exactly three months before the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby, will feature hundreds of silent auction items and an online auction of 10 unique items and experience packages to benefit the Museum. Guests can attend the event in person at the Museum from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. or bid on special packages online beginning at noon. To purchase tickets, visit here or call (518) 584-0400....

Tickets for Kentucky Derby Week and the entire 44-day Spring Meet at Churchill Downs go on sale Thursday, Feb. 2 at noon. The 149th Spring Meet spans nine weeks from Apr. 29-July 3. Among special events slated for this year's Derby week, Champions Day has moved to Wednesday, and this year's event will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's memorable Triple Crown sweep with a limited-edition print giveaway, an artist signing and a partnership with the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. For more information or to buy...

Bob Baffert has certainly taken his lumps ever since it was discovered that Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for a banned substance in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. He was hit with a 90-day suspension from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the New York Racing Association banned him for a year and Churchill Downs banned him for two years. Though Baffert is still fighting the Churchill ban, in all likelihood, he will not be allowed to start a horse in this year's Derby, which would be the second straight year...

Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's Havnameltdown set all the fractions and held stablemate and co-favorite Faustin at bay to the wire to win the GII San Vicente S. by 1 1 /2 lengths at Santa Anita Sunday. Off a tad awkwardly from his inside post, Havnameltdown recovered quickly to pull himself to the early lead and was in control after a quarter in :22.46, with longshot Man Child (Creative Cause), the lone non-Baffert runner in the four-horse field, in close attendance. The bay colt inched further clear entering...

A pair of battle-tested performers in their 3-year-old categories, Nest and Epicenter showed grit and determination versus some stiff competition along the Derby and Oaks Trails. NEST When all the votes were tallied, the title for the 2022 champion 3-year-old filly division went for the second consecutive year to another uber-talented daughter of Curlin out of an A.P. Indy mare. Also trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Nest follows in the footsteps of 2021 3-year-old filly champion Malathaat, who employed a similar route to Eclipse success, including wins in...

Early nominations for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds to become eligible to compete in the 2023 Triple Crown series are due Saturday with a $600 payment. Payment for early Triple Crown nominations must be made at the time of entry on www.thetriplecrown.com. Information regarding phone or mail-in entries can also be found on the website. Nominations are scheduled to be released to the public on Monday, Feb. 6. The 2023 Triple Crown opens Saturday, May 6 with the 149th running of the $3-million GI Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles at Churchill Downs...

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) announced the launch of the second annual Off to the Races, an online auction campaign which offers the public an opportunity to bid on 17 VIP experience packages on major race days in 2023 and 2024. Each experience package offers a unique itinerary of horse racing-related bucket list activities and tickets to the specified race day(s). "With the help of the racing industry, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance supports 81 accredited charities and thousands of off-track Thoroughbreds," TAA President Jeffrey Bloom said. "Outside of the TAA's...

We're still in the early part of the season where the rankings are largely based on juvenile form and a hefty dose of speculation. As we segue into February, the forecast calls for "frost heaves" that will likely shift the balance of power just enough to keep things interesting. But at 15 weeks out, everyone on the GI Kentucky Derby trail is still allowed to dream big. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales...

From his desk in the racing office, Stuart Slagle views stakes coordination as a vocation that is part sales and part diplomacy, but for him, it is also part science. As a former academic who received a B.S. in Zoology at the University of Texas in Austin and studied biophysics at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana before working with supercomputers as a system engineer, his approach to filling a stakes race is always interspersed with the scientific method and predictive analytics. "There is nothing like pursuing the science of...

And so we begin anew. The GIII Lecomte S. always warms the heart: it's like noticing the first buds on the bare trees, as the quiet midwinter promise--familiar, expected, miraculous--of another spring to come. In trees, each new cycle is nourished by past decay: by roots extending into soil enriched by the leaves discarded at the end of the previous one. And actually it's not dissimilar with selective breeding, so that each generation can recycle its speed, stamina, beauty, bravery. The world may be a very different place, on and...

When Golden Pal retired to Coolmore America for the 2023 season, he became the second son of Uncle Mo to join his sire at the farm, alongside Mo Town. A 15-year-old stalwart of the Coolmore stallion roster, Uncle Mo is currently enjoying a bit of a hot streak with his group of 2023 three-year-olds. Arabian Knight is the #1 ranked horse on the TDN's Derby Top Contenders off one start-the first race on the Breeders' Cup Saturday card--indicating just how impressive that race was. The $2.3-million sales topper at OBS...